


Aftercare

by HallowedJack



Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Genre: BDSM, Bottom Dwight Fairfield, Dominant Jeff Johansen, Horror, M/M, Pining, Possessive Jeff Johansen, Possessiveness, Protective Jeff Johansen, Romance, Slow Burn, Submissive Dwight Fairfield, Top Jeff Johansen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-11-03 19:23:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17883731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HallowedJack/pseuds/HallowedJack
Summary: Dwight has welcomed many people into the fog. He gets along with them, for the most part. When he meets Jeff Johansen though, his feelings cloud his judgement and common sense. Jeff doesn’t mind though, or at least doesn’t notice. Love is hard, even harder through trauma.





	Aftercare

Dwight never liked introducing new survivors to the fog. It was never easy. Denial, rage- all common emotions he had learned to respond to. As much as he learned them though, the emotional wails of despair and the cracks he could see forming in the psyche’s of others broke him just as much. He was the only one who would do it though, but that wasn’t his choice. 

 

The fire went up suddenly in sparks, the Entity’s appendages twitching as they lowered a body grasped in their arachnid hold. David and Laurie glanced his way before trailing off into the woods. The rest of the crew did the same, save for Claudette.  She was still on his side, wanting to help the new survivors. Dwight sent her a questioning look. The sound of wooden doors closing filled the campgrounds.

 

“What? I cannot help? Don’t deal with this alone like they said, it’s not just your responsibility. It was a petty argument anyway. I can’t believe they’re taking it seriously.

 

He sighed, mostly in agreement.

 

“I know, I don’t really mind. Might as well welcome them, I doubt anybody else besides you or me, or Kate really, would want to. Not that I blame them, of course. Better to get off on the right foot, I guess.”

 

Dwight was used to non-committal answers, no hard opinions. Nobody offended. He did blame them though, but he bit his tongue. Claudette knew his feelings on the matter anyway.

 

Normally, they’d all take turns welcoming them to the campire. That was how it was normally done. Not anymore though. He was the leader, as they said, so he might as well be useful in accommodating new survivors. 

 

David stopped, before turning around.

 

“Ya worked in a pizza joint, right? Be a good host, then.”

 

Dwight glanced at Claudette, now both frowning. It was a biting remark, one laced with sarcasm. Not particularly offensive though They both knew better than to respond. A fight with another survivor wouldn’t be the best way to introduce themselves with the new survivor.

 

He couldn’t make out the new arrival, who’s form was still obstructed by the dozens of arachnid appendages. The orange firelight reflected off the black shiny matter. Dwight’s fingers twitched as he laced them together, noticing how Claudette was sat patiently on a log. He did the same, trying to channel a similar energy. First impressions, and all.

 

The appendages reached the ground, and a burst of orange shimmering energy spread through the campgrounds, not unlike that which occurred upon a sacrifice. They retreated, one by one, until their pointed ends straightened out and sunk back into the foggy black tear in the hazy sky. Dwight shivered, never liking or even getting used to the Entity’s appearance. His phobia was likely a hindrance too, as he avoided vaulting the same window too many times, just to spare his sight from the living black blockade. Call it arachnophobia, or something, but he just didn’t like it.

 

Claudette and Dwight got up from their seats as the orange energy began to clear. They took in the appearance of the man before them. Long but matted black hair, and an equally lengthy beard. Not jet back by any means, but definitely a lighter shade for sure. A faded scar ran across his closed left eye. Dwight could tell it had been a deep wound, from the way it was noticeably raised and still a bit off-color. Even if it had time to heal, it must have been particularly nasty at the time. Painful, too. Overall though, handsome, but in a different kind of way than David’s ruggedness or Ace’s charm.

 

They first checked for breathing. Dwight wasn’t the best at this so he was glad for Claudette’s presence. She brought her ear closed to his face, brushing the hair from her head. When she laughed softly to herself, Dwight frowned, unsure of what it could be. It wasn’t a macabre or dark laugh, so she had definitely heard something at least. It had happened before- dead on arrival. Not much they could do. Part of the Entity’s imperfectness, he guessed.

 

“He’s snoring.” Claudette said with a grin. A common expression for her, regardless of her situation.

 

Dwight approached, learning towards the presumably older man. He noticed the faint smell of beer, suddenly remembering his own departure. But there was something else, a warm smell, not unlike wood and pine. The alcohol nearly overpowered it, though. He frowned at the thought, automatically blocking out the memory- compartmentalizing himself. He did hear the snoring though, a low rumbling that came from somebody with a clearly deep voice.

 

“Alcohol too, probably got drunk and carried away.” 

 

It wasn’t uncommon, the link between inebriation and abduction. Feng min was experienced enough with that, alongside himself. It must be easier, he thought, for the entity to take those who are already weakened. But what is that weakness, perhaps mental? He filed away the thought for later, focusing on what was in front of him instead.

 

“I say we wake him.”

 

But Dwight didn’t want to. He wanted to keep watching the man, and how his worn leather jacket rose and fell with each breath. He wanted to watch the slight bit of drool seep from the corners of his mouth. He averted his eyes, suddenly overwhelmed with embarrassment. Now was not the time. Cautiously, he glanced towards Claudette. The smug smirk on her face told him that she could read the way he had been looking.  A blush painted itself across his cheeks.

 

He wanted that man’s sleep to be as long as possible, to give him enough rest and to prolong the inevitable of him facing his worst nightmare.

 

The stranger’s nose twitched and one of his hands raised up from his side to scratch at his shirt. It was black, with a white and red graphic design. Probably some sort of band, the kind that would make the wearer look cool and alternative. Not that he thought of that as contrived or anything, just the kind of thing he could never pull off himself.

 

His other hand came up to rub his left eye, fingers darting up to scratch at his scar. Itchy, then. Or maybe he normally touched it when idling, and his body naturally ghosted the movements as he slept. Dwight didn’t know why he was explaining it to himself so deeply, it really didn’t matter. When the hand lifted itself from his face, he saw the man’s eyelids flutter open to reveal a pair of dark brown orbs, almost black even.  Still half-lidded, the man made eye contact with him and mumbled out with a tired half-smile.

 

“Oh, hello there.”

 

It was a deep voice, confident but gentle. And it made Dwight return the expression, grin really, because it was not the kind of response he was used to. It wasn’t the panicked fear that most expressed, remembering the events that led up to their capture. There had only been two occasions where a survivor had appeared while sleeping. This guy and Quentin, but he didn’t seem anything like Quentin. For one, this man appeared well-rested and almost peaceful. The kind that could only come from sleep un-perturbed by nightmares.

 

He didn’t know what to say, but that wasn’t unusual.

 

“Umm, hi there, my name is Dwight. I’m going to need you to stay calm okay, take a few deep breaths for me.”

 

The man continued to look up at him, eye contact unwavering, but not intentionally, instead as if he was processing something and absentmindedly gazed forward. He made a gruff sound before pressing his palm to his forehead, groaning somewhat in pain.

 

“I drank too much and wandered into the woods, right? Shit, haha, sorry about that guys, didn’t mean to frighten you. Uhh, what happened to the snow though? Man, this headache is something else, I’m probably stupid hung-over right now.”

 

Dwight felt bad for the man. He was kind evidently, as his first reaction was to apologize for his inconvenience. Or maybe he knew himself to be an alcoholic and was simply embarrassed about the fact. That didn’t seem right though, as the smell only lingered and an alcoholic probably wouldn’t have let it overcome them like that in a wooded area. Whatever the case though, now it was time to explain.

 

“Well- sort of. I can smell the alcohol on you, not to be mean or anything. Wherever you were then, you are not there now. This is the part where you take a deep breath. There’s no way to ease you into this, I really can’t think of a way to do so. But we’re basically in purgatory right now, trapped in the realm of some sort of entity that makes us compete against predators in a kind of cat-and-mouse game. You with me?”

 

The man rubbed his eyes once more, almost as if trying to wake himself up. With a groan, he sat himself up and leaned against a nearby log, stretching his arms in the process. Claudette watched carefully, ready to subdue if necessary. As much as she could with her calming salves at least. 

 

“Yeah- I guess so. Why did it take me?”

 

Dwight bit his lip.

 

“We honestly don’t know. We thought there was a pattern with a negative event happening in our lives, but there is sometimes no correlation at all, sometimes we just get straight up taken. For the most part though, it usually involves some sort of forest.”

 

The man rubbed at his brow, thinking over things.

 

“Geez, what a way to wake up, haha. Guess I’ll accept that for now. Do you have any proof that I’ve actually been taken by an entity, and not a kidnapping office worker and gardener?”

 

That was a hard one.

 

“Until you get taken for a trial, which should be soon since you just got here, you’ll just have to be observant. The entity can recreate things, but not perfectly. It remade this forest and camp area, but crows are the only wildlife. There are no bugs or anything. There is no wind either. Look up at the sky, there is no sun, which should still be visible even through this thick fog. You’ll probably notice other things too that just don’t seem right.”

 

Dwight hoped he had been clear enough. He was thankful though that the new survivor was somewhat mellow, and didn’t almost immediately try to fight him. That had not been the best reaction, but certainly better than others. The man scratched at his scalp, running his fingers through his tangled hair and frowned.

 

“If you say so. I’m guessing we can’t leave either, right?”

 

Dwight shook his head.

 

“People have left this campfire, but I personally don’t think they escaped.

 

“Oh,” the man said, leaving it at that.

 

The man closed his eyes and sighed. 

 

Dwight glanced towards Claudette.

 

“So, what’s your name then?”

 

She asked.

 

His eyes opened once more, and he smiled. From his somewhat slumped position against the log, he held out his hand towards her.

 

“Jeff Johansen, you?”

 

She took it, firmly returning the favour.

 

“Claudette Morel. I’m kind of our healer of sorts.”

 

He nodded.

 

“Ah- I see. Sounds good to have you on my side then.”

 

He turned to Dwight.

 

“How about you, Dwight, was it?”

 

Claudette frowned, letting out a small ‘oh’ sound.

 

“Well, I’m supposed to be our leader, I guess. Doesn’t work out much.”

 

He left it at that, implying through tone he didn’t want to expand on it.

 

“Okay, so we have a healer and a leader, anybody else?”

 

Dwight’s eyes lit up, but almost immediately dimmed at the thought.

 

“Yeah, they’re just a bit busy at the moment.”

 

Dwight was never a good liar, and he knew that. So when Jeff obviously didn’t believe the lie, he pretended not to notice.

 

“No problem.”

 

But he wasn’t upset, instead calm. It wasn’t unprecedented per say, as some chose to internalize, just somewhat rare of a reaction. 

 

Claudette got up to her feet, Dwight followed suit. He held out a hand for Jeff, to help him stand up. He was surprised by the strength that pulled down, almost landing on top of the man. Noticeably off balance, Dwight blushed and chuckled nervously.

 

“Right- I’m gunna show you to your cabin, okay?”

 

Jeff blinked at him.

 

“Cabin?”

 

Dwight nodded.

 

“Yeah, your cabin. We each get one appointed to us when we arrive. It has some of our stuff in it among other things. It’s difficult for me to explain everything at once, but trust me I’m trying.”

 

He motioned for Jeff to follow him as he walked through a brief pathway. It had obviously been walked many times before, from the way the dirt browned and the shrubbery was beaten down.

 

They came out upon a large clearing, around which dozens of wooden log cabins were spread out. They weren’t set up in any specific order, almost as haphazard as the gravel roads passing through. The odd choice of road direction would hopefully help the man understand. He seemed to be adapting rather well so far, but probably way too early to tell.

 

Claudette pointed to a cabin in the distance, around which many flowers and plants grew.

 

“See? That’s mine over there! I try to make the best out of things, it’s a good quality to have here.”

 

Dwight agreed. “Yeah, it really does help to appreciate the little things we are given.”

 

Jeff followed along quietly, definitely not the talkative type, then.

 

“I see what you mean. The layout is a bit random. That’s a nice cabin, Claudette. Plants are your thing?”

 

She smiled, smoothing down her hair with a twinkle in her eye.

 

“Yeah, I’m a Botanist actually. There are a lot of useful plants here and stuff like that. I’m surprised the Entity got their properties right though, but I’m thankful it did. They’re really useful to heal, and make tea of course.”

 

Dwight really wanted a cup of her chamomile tea, it always relaxed him. Maybe it would be good for Jeff too, but he already seemed relaxed enough, if he was honest.

 

“What other kinds of plants do you grow?”

 

And she blushed, letting out a loud laugh. So did Dwight, who normally didn’t pick up on those types of jokes. 

 

“I wish, man. Sometimes the Entity gives us alcohol, but I prefer marijuana.”

 

Claudette said it in a shy way though, as if she was unsure about admitting it. Dwight could understand that. He had never partaken in it himself, but wasn’t overtly opposed to it.

 

Dwight spoke up next.

 

“You have a good sense of humour, at least.”

 

“Nah, I’m serious. Would probably help me process all of this.”

 

Claudette patted his shoulder, laughing as she spoke.

 

“Yeah, you can say that again. Guess we’ll just have to cross our fingers. It does seem to work though, that’s what Feng and David did for the alcohol.”

 

Jeff scratched at his beard.

 

“How do I find my cabin?”

 

The two veteran survivors glanced at each other. Dwight spoke up.

 

“A lot of these things are hard to explain- you’ll just know. You’ll be familiar with it just like it’s your own home.”

 

Jeff stuck his tongue out the corner of his mouth, making a sound of confused agreement.

 

“Sure. I guess so.” He said, immediately walking away from the two.

 

Not out of anger or anything, but from the way he proceeded and the gait of his walk, curiosity. The two followed him through the clearing and past Ace’s and Laurie’s cabin. Jeff made his way to the cabin between Kate and Tapp’s. It definitely hadn’t been there before, but an overwhelming feeling told him it had always been there. Dwight dismissed the thought. It wasn’t particularly helpful. 

 

Jeff walked up the steps of the small building, grabbing the rail when the stairs creaked beneath his weight. Definitely a bit nervous, Dwight recognized a few of his own mannerisms in the man. Not as bad as him though, definitely not. Claudette followed close behind looking out around the camp and just generally lingering. Jeff fiddled with the doorknob before he pushed a bit too hard and stumbled into the home. It was dark, dust floated in the air. It smelled distinctly of wood and paint, the same he had smelled on Jeff before. He didn’t know what it had been before, the earthy accent, but it was definitely oil paint. Not the unpleasant kind, but distinct in its own way.

 

Dwight watched as the taller man fumbled around in the dark for a light switch. After he heard a click, light filled the wooden home. It was one of the entity’s touches, how the wiring was not hidden in the slightest, simply stapled to the wooden wall. It wasn’t even connected to anything outside, just there as an appearance of normalcy. At least the wires were insulated. He didn’t want to guess how the entity approximated household electricity, given the Doctor’s power.

 

The cabin was decorated simply, with a black-sheeted bed in the corner alongside a rickety nightstand. There was a small armoire across from the two, but that was it. The other cramped attached rooms were completely empty. Jeff sat himself down on the bed, wincing at the harsh squeak and groan of wood.

 

“Quaint,” he joked.

 

Dwight laughed softly alongside Claudette, who leaned against the window. His own cabin was larger in size, fully-furnished as well. He knew how these things worked, and trusted himself to explain it.

 

“Basically, the entity will reward you for a good performance in the trial by offering you furniture, clothing, and comfort items alongside upgrades to your home. I guess it’s the motivation to do well. Your cabin doesn’t seem like much now, I know, but it will be an area of comfort for you in the future.”

 

Silence, no response. Jeff cradled his head in his arms and stared up at the ceiling. He took a bit too long to answer, so he shook himself out of his contemplative daze and apologized.

 

“Sorry, was thinking there for a moment. That surprisingly makes sense. How are we, well, scored?”

 

Dwight rubbed his palm with his thumb.

 

“Well- I’ll explain to you once we’re in the trial. It would sound way too complicated otherwise. We can volunteer to enter them, most don’t, and if not enough people volunteer, we’ll be randomly selected. I’ll volunteer so I end up in the trial with you, so don’t worry.”

 

Jeff smiled, albeit nervously.

 

“You guys are really hyping up this trial thing. I’m guessing it’s not just like a game of cards or a sports game.”

 

Dwight sighed, unsure of how to word his following statement.

 

“I’ll be honest, it’s very frightening and traumatic at first, but you’ll get used to it. My friend, meg, who’s been here the longest, doesn’t really get scared anymore. She just views it as a sport. You won’t get used to the pain though, none of us have.”

 

Jeff broke eye contact after that, immediately trailing his scar with his hand. Dwight guesses that the things that came to his mind probably weren’t the best, all things considered.

 

“I’ll keep that in mind. What kind of pain are we talking about?”

 

It was Dwight’s turn to look away now. Suddenly uncomfortable, he didn’t know how to proceed.

 

“Sure you wanna know?”

 

Jeff rubbed his eyes, a weak smile desperately trying to push through.

 

“Might as well know what I’m getting myself into.”

 

Another uncertain sigh from Dwight.

 

“Alrighty then. Deep lacerations and impalement on a meat hook, that’s a certainty at least for your first trial. Maybe worse, depending on certain situations.”

 

Jeff blanked. As if it was dawning on him, hitting him for real now.

 

“B-but you’re still here, surely then-“

 

“You always come back alive, completely healed and unharmed. Physically, at least.”

 

Claudette, mostly silent, took this time to speak up.

 

“If we get into a trial, which I’ll probably volunteer with you, I can provide you with pain relieving salve. It obviously won’t stop it, but will help it from distracting you. If you see Jake around, he’s usually in the forest, he can help you deal with it mentally as well.”

 

Dwight nodded.

 

“Yeah, her medications are a life-saver, for real. But that’s it for explanations for now. Take this time to think over everything, okay? You can yell at us now or take out your frustration, we completely understand. A lot of newcomers do this so it’s forgivable, but it’s better than bottling it up.”

 

Once again, that charming smile which was somewhat aloof. That damn smile.

 

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

 

Dwight couldn’t help but grin in return. That kind of optimism, kindness, would help balance things out around the camp. Definitely for the better.

 

Claudette waved goodbye to the man.

 

“I’ll be seeing you later, Jeff. Bye now.”

 

He waved to her as she departed. It was just Dwight and Jeff now. Evidently relaxed but still on edge, Jeff glanced up at him. The eye contact was intense, and he felt a bit awkward because of it. Dwight shifted in place.

 

“I’ll give you some time to yourself to handle everything, okay? I know it’s a lot, so if you ever need anything for the next bit my cabin is on the left of Claudette’s. It has a bicycle next to a bright red mailbox.”

 

Jeff nodded and closed his eyes, muttering something out of frustration under his breath. It didn’t seem to be directed to him, but just a general release of stress. Normal, of course.

 

Dwight quietly shut the door on his way out, not wanting to disturb his sleep.  

 

He was smitten, that’s for sure. He recognized the heat in his belly and understood why his own eyes lingered in Jeff’s. He’s felt all of this before. It’d go away in due time, like it always did.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
